I Am Not Suspended?
by Michael Glickman
Summary: Did Frankie really get into that much trouble at school? In this AU, Frankie is a real human girl and not an android.


Frankie was asleep in bed on her first day of her suspension from school for violent acts, when she heard a knock on the door which woke her up. "Frankie", said her mother entering her bedroom smiling, "It's time to get up, you don't want to be late for school today. Tonight is a big night for you. It's your first real date at the school dance with Cole." Frankie's eyes widened in puzzlement and she replied, "Huh, what, Mom? I thought you said I couldn't go to the school dance, remember?" Dr. Gaines seemed quite taken aback by this. "Uh, Frankie", she asked quite bemusedly. "What are you talking about? I never said you couldn't go to the school dance. Where would you get an idea like that?" Frankie, now even more confused, replied "M-mom, don't you remember, I've been suspended for destruction of school property as well as other violent acts. Don't you remember Ms. Hough calling you about it yesterday? Besides, I thought you didn't want me hanging out with Cole in the first place." Now Dr. Gaines got even more confused herself and said, "Uh, Frankie, Ms. Hough hasn't called me or Dad at all about any recent conduct violations from you. Also, I have never said you couldn't hang out with Cole. If anything, I've always been quite fond of him and Dayton. After all, their dad was previously a robotics engineer in residence with the Smithsonian. I don't know where you're getting ideas like that in your head." Dr. Gaines then added warmly "Why don't you just get ready for school and try to enjoy your day the best that you can." She gave Frankie a warm smile and left after that.

Frankie then got out of bed and got ready for school. She was making her way downstairs when she saw Cole and her other friends Dayton and Byron waiting for her in the living room. "Hey," Byron said smiling, "I've just added new enhancements for Bob so he can do some more amazing stunts. Like to see them at school later on?", he said holding up Bob to Frankie. Frankie suddenly began flinching and shouting violently, "Aaaah! Aaaah! Get him away from me!" Byron was very puzzled by this and looked at an equally confused Cole and Dayton before moving Bob away from Frankie. Quite caught off guard, he then asked bemusedly, "Uh, Frankie, what's gotten into you? I thought you liked Bob." Frankie then replied nervously, "I-I do. I'm just afraid you probably think I might destroy him." Byron gave Frankie a puzzled look and replied very bemusedly, "Uh, Frankie, where did you get an idea like that? No harm has come to Bob from neither you or anyone else." Frankie then said, "But Byron, you saw for yourself pieces of Bob falling out of my locker yesterday when I was talking to Dayton along everyone else's stuff being destroyed and strewn along the hallway." Now it was Cole's turn to speak. "Uh, Frankie, there was no school yesterday, remember? It was a full day in service." Frankie got even more confused and asked, "What, no school yestereday?" Dayton shook her head. "No school yesterday", she replied matter of factly. Frankie then said in a mildly surprised voice, "Oh."

She was about to question it further when Byron then informed them it was time for them to go to school. Frankie walked to school with her friends, but inside she was still puzzled over what was transpiring. They soon approached school and entered as usual when Frankie started screaming in terror at something that caught her attention. "Aaaah! Aaaah! Graffiti on the lockers! Graffiti on the lockers!", she was screaming like she was crying for help. Soon, the principal, Ms. Hough, walked out of her office along with the math teacher, Mr. Manhart, to find out what the commotion was. They approached Frankie very carefully and Ms. Hough calmly asked, "Frankie, is something wrong?" Frankie then replied in a very scared voice, "Oh, Ms. Hough and Mr. Manhart, I'm so sorry for the graffiti on the lockers saying 'Robots rule.' I don't know who spray painted it on but it wasn't me. And I'm sorry for all the breaking in the lockers and destroying everyone's stuff. I don't know who destroyed everyone's property but it wasn't me. Please don't get me in trouble." Ms. Hough smiled and patted Frankie's shoulder gently. "Now, now, Frankie, dear", she said very soothingly. "You haven't done anything wrong. No one has made any complaint, whatsoever, about their items getting destroyed." Mr. Manhart also added gently, "In addition, Frankie, that graffiti you are seeing really isn't graffiti at all. It's actually just temporary gimmick paint applied by the robotics classes in honor of Robotics Month here at Sepulveda High. Don't worry, it will be scrubbed off eventually when Robotics Month has concluded."

Frankie couldn't believe what was happening. All of what she thought was supposed to transpire was not transpiring at all. She was about to head to her first class with Dayton, Cole, and Byron, when her academic rival, Tammy, passed by with her pack, Lucia and Makayla. She braced herself for the usual tauntings from the three, when the three actually smiled at her and Tammy said to her very warmly, "Hey, Frankie, I hope you've gotten your studying all completed. The Brain Squad competition is coming up very soon and we're counting on you to lead the team to victory." Frankie was now even more confused than before. She then asked Tammy nervously, "Uh, Tammy, I thought you were actually upset about me being on the team. I thought you felt I was usurping your position as the smartest girl in school." Then it was Tammy's turn to be surprised. "Uh, Frankie", she asked confusingly. "Where would you get an idea like that? I've never once been jealous of you at all. In fact, one my biggest ground rules as captain of the Brain Squad is that 'there is no I in team.' When we're competing in the Brain Squad, we're not doing it for our own personal glories. We're doing it to bring prestige to everybody here at school, regardless of academic level."

Now Frankie was really getting confused over what was going on so far. She soon entered the classroom where she would have her first class, mathematics, when Lucia and Makayla entered as well and excitedly asked her what she was going to wear at the school dance on her date with Cole. She soon got even more confused and replied, "Uh, actually, I'm actually going with someone else. The new student here named Andrew LaPierre." Now it was Lucia and Makayla's turn to be surprised. "Uh, Frankie", Lucia told her, looking at her like she had two heads. "There is no other student here named Andrew LaPierre." Frankie looked even more puzzled and asked the two girls, "Not at all?" Makayla shook her head and replied, "Not at all. As a matter of fact, you're actually the newest student we've had here so far."

Now Frankie had seen all she could take, and she soon ran out of the classroom, sobbing very loudly. Lucia and Makayla looked at each other like one of them had said something very out of line. Meanwhile, Cole, Dayton, and Byron ran after Frankie to find her and comfort her. The three of them looked high and low for Frankie. They soon found her at the back of the school outside, crying very heavily. All three walked over to her and Cole gently reached his arms around Frankie for a hug as Frankie cried into his shoulder and Cole rubbed soothing circles around her back and gently kissed her cheek while Dayton calmly patted Frankie's shoulder. Pretty soon, Cole gently asked, "Frankie, you're not really yourself today. What's wrong?" Frankie slowly stopped crying and replied, "Oh, Cole, I'm just so confused about what's going on with me. I mean, first I'm under the impression that I've been suspended for destruction of school and personal property when said destruction hasn't actually happened and I'm not really suspended, then I'm under the impression that my mom never wanted me to hang out with you when she actually has always been very fond of you, then I'm believing that Tammy sees me as her worst enemy when in reality she actually sees me as a valuable asset to the Brain Squad, and now I'm believing that I'm not going with you to school dance and I'm going out with another boy, only to find out that said boy doesn't actually exist and that I'm going with you all along. It's just really being too heavy for me to take in all at once" Frankie began crying again. Dayton smiled and said, "Frankie, you've probably just been having recurring bad dreams the past few nights. We all get them occasionally sometimes." Cole added, "Yeah, Frankie, you're probably stressed out from so much studying. I mean, you did join the Brain Squad very late in the session." Byron also added, "Indeed, you've probably found yourself cramming the material in just to remember it so quickly. My dad always tells me that cramming is always a bad idea for studying as it can wreak havoc on your psyche energy and have you running on fumes." Frankie nodded but still kept crying very heavily. Cole then said, "Boy, Frankie is really sad and blue today. I wonder what else can we do to put that smile back on her face." The three friends began pondering it over when Dayton suddenly announced, "Oh, I remember now. Whenever Frankie is feeling sad, Dr. Gaines always sings the Skinnamarink song to her like what Sharon, Lois and Bram sing. Maybe we can, too. It's worth a try." Cole and Byron replied "Yeah, we can do that", and they soon sang, "Skinnamarkinki-dinka-dink, skinnamarinki-doo, I, love, you. Skinnamarinki-dinka-dink, skinnamarinki-doo, I, love, you. I love you in the morning and in the afternoon, I love you in the evening and underneath the moon. Skinnamarkinki-dinka-dink, skinnamarinki-doo, I, love, you. I, love, you. I, love, you. Iiiiii-loooooovvvvvveeee-you, too, boop-boop-be-doo." Frankie laughed and smiled again and she told her friends that she felt much better and she could return to class now. After this, the quartet of friends walked back inside the school, knowing that everything was all right and Frankie was perfectly safe and happy again.


End file.
